Ordination

September 15, 1985 by the Presbytery of Newark, Presbyterian Church (USA)

Prior Pastoral Positions

First Presbyterian Church in York, Pennsylvania

Pastor/Head of Staff March 1999 to June 2013

Arlington Hills Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota:

Pastor/Head of Staff
St. Paul, Minnesota January 1994 to February 1999

First Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, New Jersey:

Associate Pastor/Executive Pastor February 1987 to December 1993

Associate Pastor
June 1985 to January 1987

John’s family is his greatest joy. Ellen enjoys being involved in a variety of ways
in the church and in the local community. She is an advocate for the role of
children and youth in our church. She loves cooking, menu planning, and eating
new foods and ethnic cuisines. She believes there is something about God’s gift
of food that enables us to share each other’s lives. Ellen is energized by people
and loves gatherings, church and musical events and serving on committees. She
earned a chemistry degree from Grove City College, PA and has enjoyed work
in the technical field.

John and Ellen's two daughters, Erica and Grace, live and work in the Washington, DC area.

Rachel was raised in Sherman, Texas (and the Presbyterian Church), but had dreams of singing on the stage, so she went to Belmont University in Nashville, TN to study classical voice. However, God had other plans. Rachel graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Religion and the Arts (the perfect coming together of her faith and music) in 2011, and only knowing that she had a love for theology and coffee, moved to Tulsa, OK to be the University Ministries Intern at the University of Tulsa and First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa. Sensing a deeper call to ordained ministry, Rachel attended Princeton Theological Seminary for her Master of Divinity (2015). During her time in seminary, she interned at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church where she started up their college ministry program. Her love for outreach and college ministry made WPC the perfect fit, and she has called Williamsburg home since starting as Associate Pastor here in August of 2015.

Rachel’s love for theology, college ministry, and coffee continue to be part of Rachel’s ministry: she’s a blogger for the HuffPost Religion section, holds regular “office hours” at the Daily Grind on William & Mary’s campus for students, and can oftentimes be found at her “second office” at Aromas.

"A” was born in Culpeper, Virginia and received his BA from Mary Washington College in 2000. He spent time in Virginia and Arizona working in Accounting, Student Services, Education, and IT prior to receiving his Masters of Divinity in 2009. After spending 7+ wonderful years in Charleston, South of Carolina at Harbor View Presbyterian Church, he is glad to have joined us at WPC in 2016.

“A” is married to Phoebe and enjoys sports, music, communication, theology, theatre, quantum physics, and other silly things. He believes the best curriculum for Christian Education is found in church life and strives to connect people with each while maintaining a passion for helping churches look beyond their walls and connecting with the world in creative, contextual ways.

Vanessa is a whiz-bang with our publications. She oversees the weekly worship bulletin and e-newsletter, special service bulletins, and the Kirk Courier monthly newsletter, using her graphic skills to highlight and enhance all these announcements. She also maintains our website and serves as a conduit for all church communications. Vanessa strives to the best of her ability to assist the church family in their myriad attempts to serve.

Martha works part-time in the church office supporting the staff and congregation with her personable nature and outstanding clerical skills. She is particularly focused on the needs of our church families through the Deacons, and fills in with daily office tasks like answering the phones and directing parishioners and visitors to fulfill their needs.

Ed maintains the facility, overseeing the physical plant and grounds, which includes maintenance of the master calendar to coordinate the use of the facility by members and guests, and with the set up and arrangement of furniture and technology to support their activities. He works with the Facilities ministry to budget and plan for building maintenance and upgrades.